Park Avenue Securities LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Park Avenue Securities LLC reduced its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 22,216 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,106 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $3,854,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. NBC Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 6,333 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,276,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Guidance Capital Inc. grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.1% during the first quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. now owns 5,483 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,135,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 27.3% in the first quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 275 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. First Financial Corp IN grew its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 2.5% in the first quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 2,429 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $489,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, D Orazio & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.2% in the first quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 1,894 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $382,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 1.8 %

MPC traded up $3.07 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $172.42. 98,527 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,632,621. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $170.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $179.01. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1-year low of $139.32 and a 1-year high of $221.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.40.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The oil and gas company reported $4.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.09 by $1.03. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 25.87% and a net margin of 5.32%. The business had revenue of $38.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.32 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 13.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the oil and gas company to buy up to 7.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $186.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $168.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $207.00 to $191.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 1st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $198.38.

Marathon Petroleum Profile

Marathon Petroleum Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated downstream energy company primarily in the United States. The company operates through Refining & Marketing, and Midstream segments. The Refining & Marketing segment refines crude oil and other feedstocks at its refineries in the Gulf Coast, Mid-Continent, and West Coast regions of the United States; and purchases refined products and ethanol for resale and distributes refined products, including renewable diesel, through transportation, storage, distribution, and marketing services.